Choices
by PadfootIsMyMan
Summary: Everything that happens is the direct effect of a choice. Lily, Chelsea, and the Marauders have a crazy year ahead of them...Let's hope they make the right choices.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fantastic characters or setting that J.K. Rowling has created. Only the plot, Chelsea, Ryan, and random other things are mine.

~Prologue~

There are never simply good and bad people. Black and white don't exist. In this gray world, choices dictate the kind of person we seem to be. Right, wrong, or anything in between, a choice could set our lives in a course for happiness or doom. This is a story about good, evil; black, white; right, wrong. This is a story about everything possible in between those factors. This is a story about six teenage friends and their choices. This is their life.

A breeze drifted through the open window of the Gryffindor common room, ruffling the long red hair of Lily Evans as she tried to study for her upcoming Potions exam. It was no matter that the exam was in 4 days; she liked to be prepared for anything that could happen. Just as she broke her second quill, the portrait door opened and a group of rowdy third years trampled in. Ignoring them, Lily rummaged through her bag of supplies, only to be interrupted by one of the younger students.

"Um, excuse me? Are you Lily Evans?" Lily simply nodded her head affirmatively.

"Well, I hate to bother you and all, but there's a girl outside of the portrait asking for you. At least, I think it's you. She said to find a 'Lily Evans' with hair like fire," the student glanced towards the general area of the exit. "She seemed very…insistent that you come out and see her right away."

The red-headed sixth year simply let out a sigh and stood up. "Of course. Thank you for letting me know." The third year smiled a toothy grin and left to go back to his friends.

She walked out into the corridor and was immediately pounced on by a very tall Ravenclaw girl, who happened to be crying silently. As soon as this girl touched Lily though, she burst into a more panicked state of hysterics and became more audible. Lily immediately put her arms around the girl and stroked her short brown hair.

"Chelsea! What's wrong?" Lily questioned, bewildered.

The girl in question simply let out a sob and continued to just seek the comfort of her best friend. Lily noticed other people in the hall looking at them, so she slowly moved herself and her companion to a more secluded corner behind a statue of a knight. They slowly slid to the ground where Lily's arms could reach a more comfortable position.

After several minutes of sitting there, Lily whispering soothing words and rubbing Chelsea's back, Chelsea's crying slowed down to simple tears coming from her eyes. Lily pulled back slowly to look at her best friend's red and puffy face.

Lily asked, "Can you tell me what happened now? Are you hurt? Did someone do something to you? Please just tell me!"

Chelsea shook her head and took several deep breaths. "Oh Lils, you're the best friend ever! Nothing is wrong with me except for my infinite stupidity!" At this point, Chelsea had her face in her hands. In a more muffled tone, she continued, "I can't believe this happened…Why do I do things like this?"

Looking up and seeing her friend's confused look, Chelsea explained, "I did something last night that I regret with every fiber of my being!"

"What did you do last night? I thought you had gone for a walk with Ryan; I never saw you again after dinner," Lily said. Ryan was Chelsea's boyfriend of 4 months. They were rumored to be Hogwarts's "Golden Couple." No one could remember not seeing the two of them together, especially because they were both Ravenclaws.

Chelsea's expression immediately turned to one of anger and hurt. "That bastard! After this conversation, I never want to hear his name ever again!" She made a fist and pounded it into the palm of her other hand. Lily wished she had a sturdy pillow, the only thing she allowed Chelsea to hit in moments of anger. However, Lily simply raised her eyebrows to question why Chelsea's first love was being targeted.

The fight seemed to leave Chelsea's face. "He broke up with me," she whispered. "He took me to the lake and said he'd gotten bored of me…He called me a prude too," she looked away as if ashamed.

Lily's bright green eyes flashed with anger. "He did what? All because you wouldn't sleep with him? I thought he understood that you weren't ready for that? He's such a jerk!"

Chelsea started crying again. "It's so hard for me to admit this when he's already broken my heart, but I still love the guy. He was my first love, you know?" Lily sympathetically held Chelsea's hands. "So what was so stupid about that?" Lily asked.

Her eyes closed at the ideas floating around her head involving a very dead and decapitated Ryan, missing his genitals.

Chelsea looked Lily straight into the eyes, brown meeting green. "Lils, you're my best friend, and I trust you so much. There's no one else I can tell this to. Please don't betray me like him…Please keep this a secret, between us," the distressed girl pleaded.

Right away, Lily nodded her head frantically. "Of course I will! Chels, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. No one except us ever has to know about any of this."

Chelsea took a deep breath and told her story. Lily could only listen with horrified fascination, like watching a terrible accident happen; you simply can't look away no matter how bad it gets. She felt dread spreading throughout her body. Who would have thought this possible?

The Ravenclaw girl described a scene that didn't seem like real life. Apparently, after Ryan had left Chelsea standing at the lake with a blank look on her face, Peter Pettigrew had wandered out and noticed the girl. This was strange in itself because of the timing of the meeting (it had been very late in the evening) and because he was by himself.

Pettigrew was part of an impenetrable group of friends, known throughout the great magic school as the Marauders. He was considered the tag-along of them, the insignificant one. However, the fact that he was in this group brought him some respect in the eyes of many students. The other three students were more handsome and charming than Pettigrew. Together, the four Gryffindor boys roamed the halls of school and commanded the attention of nearly everyone, including the faculty. They were especially noticed for their pranks on select groups of people.

Chelsea went on to tell Lily that Peter had seen her sadness and told her about getting drinks in Hogsmeade, the nearby wizarding community that the students of Hogwarts, third years and up, visited several times a year. Chelsea, in her state of mind, agreed to accompany Peter to the Hog's Head, a suspicious bar and inn located in the secluded part of Hogsmeade. Once there, they drank themselves into a rowdy mood, randomly yelling about how they weren't losers or prudes.

Finally, Chelsea admitted the part of her story that brought regret to her features. "We ordered ourselves a room because we were too drunk to come back to the castle. We could only afford a room with one bed. One thing led to another, and, well…basically, I had sex with Peter." As she finished, she burst into tears again.

Lily used the sleeve of her school robe to wipe the fresh tears from her friend's face. "Oh Chels, how on earth did this happen? Have you even seen Pettigrew? He's gross!" Chelsea immediately started crying harder. She stuttered through her harsh breathing, "I th-thought of a-a-all people, I c-could trust you to g-give bet-better advice! Don't y-you th-thi-think I know all of this!" Chelsea started to get up, but Lily pulled on the girl's arm and brought her back down.

Lily looked shamed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that. I guess the drinks took away rational thinking, huh?"

Chelsea, who had started to calm down again, snorted. "Yeah, because I'm the most rational person when I'm sober," she said sarcastically. Lily mentally agreed with her friend. Chelsea was more of an "act first, think later," kind of girl.

They just sat there in silence. Then Lily asked, "So did it hurt?"

Chelsea was quiet for moment, and then replied, "Yeah…breaking up with Ryan and having sex. Never do both on the same night."

Both girls paused and then began to laugh, Chelsea more hysterically than Lily. They didn't have a very good reason for laughing, it just seemed more appropriate than being as serious as they had been. Lily admired the way Chelsea could make a joke at a time like this; the girl's wittiness had been a long sought-after quality.

When the laughter died down, Lily stood up and stretched her muscles, cramped from staying curled in the corner for over an hour. She stuck out a hand for Chelsea to grab, then pulled the girl into a standing position. They linked arms and began to walk back towards the portrait entrance to the common room.

At the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily turned to Chelsea. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you back to the Ravenclaw tower? I don't mind."

Chelsea smiled at her only true friend and answered, "I'll be fine. I'd like to take some time alone to think anyway. Besides, you would have to walk back by yourself. This is more convenient for the both of us."

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend's practicality and pulled her into a hug. "I'm always here for you, never forget that," she whispered softly.

Chelsea returned Lily's embrace, bending over to make it easier for the both of them. Their different heights of 5'9" and 5'2" made them look like a comical pair of friends sometimes.

"Thanks for everything, Lily." With a final wave at each other, the girls turned and headed in their respective directions.

Lily came back into the common room and saw that someone had placed her book, pieces of parchment, and quills in a neat pile on the table she had been working at. Smiling at a stranger's kindness, she began stowing away her materials. When she was finished, she turned towards the entrance to the girls' staircase and saw none other than Peter Pettigrew, sitting with his fellow Marauders by the fireplace. Except for one young man, they were all laughing and high-fiving each other. Lily walked closer to the staircase, bringing her to hearing range of their conversation.

"Wormy, we had no idea that you had it in you! Way to tap that!" exclaimed one of the boys. Lily recognized it as the voice of Sirius Black. He was considered to be the most handsome student at Hogwarts, and he certainly didn't let people forget it. He usually had a new girl on his arm every week. Lily tried not to judge people, but she certainly didn't approve of the image Black made for himself.

"Guys, this doesn't sound right. How did Pete have sex with one of the most likeable girls in Hogwarts? One that had a long-term boyfriend up until last night?" Lily knew this voice to be Remus's, a fellow bookworm and prefect. Of all of the Marauders, he was the kindest and most logical. She didn't like how he participated with the others when pulling pranks, but she could tolerate him the most. He wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but he had a certain look that most coined "dark and handsome." He was also the tallest Marauder at 6'4".

The final Marauder was James Potter. He was extremely handsome, but in a more rugged way, compared to Black's elegant look. Girls flocked to him for his bad-boy image, but he pushed all of them away. His ready-made excuse was that he was in a committed relationship with his broomstick. No one could really deny that; he spent almost too much time flying outside. He was captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, playing the position of chaser.

James simply looked around at his friends with a small grin. Running a hand through his messy black hair, he replied to Remus. "Aw, calm down Moony. Petey finally got some! Someone popped his cherry," he teased. Peter instantly turned red, but spoke some more.

"It may have been my first time, but Ellis couldn't get enough of me! She kept telling me that I was one of the best she'd had before. I had to let her down easily and told her that it was just a one time thing. She was devastated," he finished.

Lily's eyes narrowed and focused on the slightly chubby boy.

James, feeling someone's eyes focused in their direction, turned to look at the furious witch. He could almost feel the rage rolling off of her. Noticing her line of vision, he looked at Peter and nudged him. Peter looked up, saw Lily, and immediately paled. Seeing their friends' strange actions, Sirius and Remus also looked at Lily.

With her eyes set on the goal, she quickly walked over and raised a hand as if to smack Peter. James used his quick reflexes to catch her wrist. Normally, Lily was a very shy person and would have blushed to the point of almost matching her hair; however, given the situation and her best friend's honor, she tried to pry away James's fingers away from her wrist. He refused to let go and stood up. Lily felt dwarfed when with Chelsea, so she became slightly anxious because of James's 6'2" height towering over her.

Remus spoke before anything else could happen. "Lily? Is something wrong? Why were you about to hit Peter?"

With one last glare at James, she turned awkwardly with her arm behind her to face Remus. "That prat is telling you guys a bunch of lies! I'm not going to simply stand around and listen to him speak such nonsense about my friend."

James raised an eyebrow and addressed Lily. "Oh? And you get your knowledge from such a trusting place, I assume?"

Lily huffed and once again tried to free her arm. James's grip was as tight as ever on her, so she explained, "Chelsea told me what happened. Not that I'm going to tell you lot, but it sounds nothing like what this jerk is spouting!"

Remus, who was also friends with Chelsea, let out a breath. He hadn't wanted to believe what his friend was saying; Chelsea simply wasn't like that. She had better taste.

James finally let go of Lily and gave her a questioning look. Ignoring him, Lily demanded of Peter, "Stop telling rumors about Chelsea or you'll get detentions as fast as I can give them out! Detentions with Professor McGonagall." With that threat, Lily grabbed her bag and ran up the stairs before the boys could say anything. Remus, Sirius, and James all looked at Peter with questions racing through their minds. There were only two questions that were consistent among them: _Just what had happened that night? Since when does Lily Evans act like this?_


End file.
